The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1887-12-01
Hone Combination.

While the farmer is watching
trust" pools" and combinations"
abroad. it is worth his While to keep
an eye on tie merchants on the pub
lie square Of his market town. They
have fallen into the habit Of colnb:n-
ing ag.inst him. To let him into the
secre; we with go into some details.
We will take the ease Of Kerosene oil,
a commodity Of universal use. This
oil costs the merchant ten cents for
medium quality and not over fifteen
for the best Tie leakage and wrs--
are il. on an average, two and one
half gallons on barrel. CT not over
s;n per cent. This makes ii cost him
not over isk to III cents a gallon. He
can afford TO sell it at Is and 80 cents
and make 20 per cent. which ought
/. TO satisfy him. He agrees with his
fellow-,narchant to sell it ut 20 and IS
cents, which makes him 60 per cent.
Some enterp.i-ing fellow starts an
oil wagon and sells at IS and 90 cents
ani straightway oil goes down to 10
and IS cents and the public benefac-
tor is driven out, wheu the price il at
once put up to the old figures. Who
is to blame? FIRST, the merchant:
second. the consumer. II the con-
sumner We're true 80 himself he would
refuse TO buy oil at u and 10 Cent?
He would stick to the oil wagon.
Merchants know that five cents will
buy the consumer. and they pay it.
Take another instance. One Of the
staple Of the farm II eggs. Merchants
take these In trade, and by agree
ment take thela a: one or two cents
less thar they get for them from the
, egg pacAe4 IN the town. They make
profit Of from 10 to ~ peg cent, on
these besides the profit on the goods
given in exchange. Ii some mer-
chant kicks put OF the combination
and gives the price the market VIII
afford, he is at once denounced by all
his fellows He il more roundly
abused than the man who scratches
his ticket at the polls. Even the
farmers suspect him OF batting them
to buy his dry goods and groceries.
He concludes after little that it does
not pay TO he just, and goes into the
combination. The snlue tactics are
resorted to in butter, in selling sail,
and in fact in nearly ell the staples.
The farmers have the remedy ia
their own hands if they will use it..
Let them keep themselves informed
as To wholesale prices, and buy only
Of the men who charge reasonable
profit. When prices are put down
below cost let them refuse to buy.
Let them stick to their friends. The
five cents they save on gallon of
ten-cent oil is a very dear five cents
The FIVE cents they make in getting
more than the market will justify will
be lost i'm twinkling when conpe-
tition has been crushed.
When the farmers inform them
selves en- these things and throw their
trade to their friends these matters
will adjust themselves. 1t is generally
safe to patronize merchant who Is
not in the combination.
g.r!ewa Homestead.
This applies AZ iprcitiy IL Gfesco
az to any other town, and as the
Homestead says, the farmers have
the remedy, if they have the sense to
use it. 1t is to stand by the merchant
that will come out of the ''unholy
combination and sell every article
on its own individual merit, and ut
the lowest price that will give just
and reasonable profit to the business.